Riverbend School for Girls - Vox Fluminis Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Vox Fluminis 25 the rooms containing four girls. This room is known to us as the Jungle Room , because of the trees painted on the walls. This also overlooks the river, and opens out onto a smaller lbalcony than the one above, and is also connected with the Hboarders' sitting room. This room is especially pleasant dur- ing the warmer seasons because of its spacious windows which are shaded by a lovely Virginia Creeper. The Jungle-mates this year have been June Baker, Norma Gray, Donna Riddell and Margaret Jan.-A.E. P OUR PRINCIPAL Miss Carter is the principal of Riverbend School. She was born in Dwblin, Ireland, and attended small private schools there. She then went to Leipzig, Ger- many, where she attended finishing school. Her university education was taken in Leeds, England. During this course she went to university in Caen, France, for six months. Miss Carter studied Modern Languages at university, but it is to be noted that she teaches Latin in our high-school now. Because her parents had planned on her being a teacher Miss Carter obtained a diploma entitling her to teach. Miss Carter joined the Wrens during the First World War. On leaving them, she spent approxi- mately one year at Ramsgate, England, where she took a business course. She had decided that she would like to be a business woman, as office work appealed to her. In 1921, Miss Carter and her mother came to Canada to visit her sister, who resided at Edmon- ton. They were to remain in Canada for a short visit. However, she was offered a position as assist- ant principal at lSt. Hilda's in Calgary, and as most of her immediate family were on this side of the ocean, she decided to accept. She remained there for thirteen years. On Friday, the thirteenth of May, Miss Carter was interviewed for the position of principal of River- bend School. According to the date, this should have been an unlucky day, but not so for Riverbend because she was accepted. The friendliness of the people and the 'beauty of the grounds pleased Miss Carter .greatly on her arrival, and those good im- pressions have increased since then. Although she would like to return to England for a visit, Miss Carter says that she does not wish to go back there to teach. What she would really like to do is to retire, and go to the coast to live. During her busy life Miss Carter finds time for several hobbies. She collects stamps, knits, and does fancy work. I would like to add that if she collects stamps as well as she knits she must have a wonderful collection. I have not seen any of the fancy work that she has done, 'but I can assure you that is is very good also, as everything that Miss Carter does is done well. Miss Carter has done wonders for our school. Each year many improvements have been made, so that now, after eleven years off her influence, Riverbend has 'become an excellent school with an excellent principal. SI-IIRJLEY SWAH., Grade XI, Douglas Hall AMUSEMENTS FOR IN TERN ES Boarding in general at Riverbend must be, I feel, much like almost any boarding school life. I sup- pose after six years I should be thoroughly initiated in the arts of amusing myself in a time divided by bells. One of the most popular amusements that goes the rounds, is a series of practical jokes. It is most disconcerting to snap in the last curler and make a wild dash for one's bed just before the staff on duty loses patience. The staff says good night and simul- taneously one shoves one's feet down under the sheets in a rush. There is a tear and there you are! Both feet are well embeded but, on the opposite side of the sheet. What was that? someone innocently inquires. uNothing, oh nothing! is the reply. ' However next morning there is quite a chore to be done, the one of patching the sheet. Apple pies are fun! For several nights the pranks continue. Everyone demands, What will happen next? Surely they have done everything possible. Let's see . . . , my pyjamas have been sevsm upfand the buttons re- moved, my personal pictures were hidden nights ago, pillows smell very odiferous and my stationery has disappeared. Oh well, I shall be on my guard. That night one carefully climbs into bed. It does not collapse as it has had a habit of doing recently. Everything goes well until suddenly one's toe con- tacts something hard and cool. Reaching down, one's hand encounters a bottle. Ha, this time I shall fool them , so very carefully one pulls it up from the foot of the bed. Upon its arrival in view one finds it has just completed emptying itself of nice cold water all the way up the bed. Of course the cork is attached to the end of the bed by means of a string. Amusement however is varied and there is a great deal of itg for we feel that the saying, all work and no play makes Jean a dull girl is very true. There is a small lilbrary at our convenience. Many hours are spent there by those who enjoy reading. This is a room where one may take oneself for an hour at a time and may journey long distances. We also make full use of the gymnasium, much as we would a common room . The younger girls skip or play games while the seniors work out the latest dance routines. It is a very colorful scene to look in on because at this ti-me we have discarded our grey tunics and delight in following the newest fashions in dress. At least once a term a party is held. Sometimes it is a fancy dress ball. Games dancing and com- petitions hold the attention of all. Nevertheless, there need never be a second call of soup's on . Outdoor sports are favourites among many. Tolbogganing, ice skating, snowlballing, bicycling, soccer, tennis, hiking, lbasefball and field sports all fill in the time, weather permitting. All in all a boarder's day is pretty full of activities when amusement has .been added to good hard work. Everyone is glad to turn in when bed time draws near- ELLEN KINNEIARD, Grade XI, York Hall

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24 Vox Fluminis OUR SISTER SCHOOL As many of us know, Riverbend is affiliated with Epworth High School, Pietermaritzburg, Natal. Epworth was founded in 1898 by the Misses Mason and Lowe, so it is considerably older than our own school. As Epworth grew, it found its buildings inadequate, hence in 1941 they moved to new and larger ones. The new buildings are in the form of two large blocks and as seen while travelling along the main road rather resemble a hotel. The school, like ours, is small, though they have a majority of boarders and a relatively small num- ber of day girls. That, as you know, is the reverse of Riverlbend. Epworth is capable of educating from Kindergarten as far as Matriculation level. As a rule, they too have six prefects, though at times more, one of these being a day girl. Epworth uses the House system as we do. Theirs are Athlone, Burton, Rhodes and Somerset. These have only one House color as compared to ours with two colors each. The school colors are navy, maroon and gold which sound like a good comfbination, we think. They would indeed clash with our scarlet and grey! Riverbend does, we feel, envy Epworth her swim- ming pool and film projector. It would be pleasant to have a swimming pool of our own for use in the hot seasons. Like most girls, we enjoy films and sometime we too, hope to have a projector. Epworth's m o tto LOYAll'.., COURTEOUS, BRAVE seems a fitting one. Our own TO BETTER THINGS is one we try to live up to. Being sister schools perhaps the two mottos will rule as well. 0 RIVERBEND'S UNIFORM, CREST, YELL AND HYMN Riverbend girls are always noted for their trim, smart appearance, due partly no doubt, to their colourful grey and red uniforms. Perhaps you have wondered at some time where this outstanding out- fit originated. When the school was started in 1929, the uniform consisted of a navy blue tunic and blue regulation blouse. However, in 1937, it was decided that Riverbend should be distinguished from other schools by a unique uniform. The subject was dis- cussed at a meeting of the Riverbend Ladies' Coun- cil where different colour schemes were consider- ed lby the various ladies. Grey and red was the suggestion of Mrs. D. F. McIntyre. who offered to have the uniforms made up and modelled before the Board of Directors by two of her daughters, Winnifred Ruth and Marjorie Lynn. The Board ap- prove-d wholeheartedly to this practical grey and red uniform which has since become a tradition. Our crest was introduced and designed in 1937 by Mr. Douglas MacKay and Mr. P. J. Edgar. Simple in design and yet full of meaning, it bears, in the school colours, the Assini- boine River, the sea gull which is so prominent in the wild life of Riverbend, and the four pillars representing the front of the White House as well as the pillars of learning. As recently as 1943, Riverbend still lacked a school yell. However, a contest was held in which all the girls were urged to enter their contributions. Nancy Complin, of Douglas Hall, received the award of five house-points for her rousing yell which is used today. In 1930 Mrs. Dempsey, a former music teacher of Riverbend chose the school hymn which has be- come deeply embedded in the minds of Riverbend girls who are striving to be worthwhile citizens of our country. Land of our birth we pledge to thee Our love and toil in the years to be When we are grown and take our place As men and women with our race. p PHYLLIS BEATTY, Grade XII, Nelson Hall. O THE BOARDERS' SITTING ROOM The boarders' sitting room is found on the second floor of the White house. It is a very cozy, home- like room, with three big windows looking out on the back lawn and the Assiniboine River below. The girls spend much of their spare time in this room, sometimes doodling on the piano or listening to the latest songs on the radio, or perhaps just sitting and thinking about home-what Mom would be doing then-and Pop just coming home from work, tired from the long day. 'On Monday night all the girls crowd in to hear Lux Theatre , everyone listening to the beautiful voice of Charles Boyer or to the all-favorite Ronald Colman . Loud giggles of laughter and long sighs over Frankie or a duet of Boogie Woogie may be heard any night by anyone passing the door. This room is also used as a studyroom for the early morning risers of the White house . Even though the sitting room is nearly always in an uproar, every girl will agree that it is certainly an asset to our boarding school. MARY McINTOSH, Grade IX, Nelson Hall O THE BUBBLE ROOM AND THE JUNGLE ROOM The largest bedroom in the main 'building of the residence is known to all as the Bubble Room . It is situated on the third floor off the White House overlooking the river. Off this room is a large bal- cony situated above the pillars at the front of the house. These pillars represent the Pillars of Learning. The girls who occupy this room are usually juniors, and it is from this room they 'begin to work their way up through the grades and the other rooms. The name Bubble Room' originated from the colored bwbtbles which decorated the ceil- ing. Every time the room was redecorated it was 'lone with a similar wallpaper having a bubble design. Because of the war it has been impossible to buy wallpaper with such a design, therefore that which is on the ceiling at present has a star-like design. The girls who are occupying the Bubble Room are Valerie Head, 'Barbara Lennox, Amy Campbell and Dorothy Jackson. Directly below the BuUble Room is another of

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